Chase volunteers pack 27,000 meals to help fight senior hunger

As part of the 2017 Summer of Service to Seniors, a partnership between the AARP Foundation and AARP Credit Card from Chase, more than 400 Chase volunteers gathered last Wednesday at the bank’s Walnut Street location in Wilmington to pack 27,000 meals for Delaware seniors at risk of hunger.

A rainy afternoon did not put a damper on the spirit of the day. Four assembly lines were set up in a covered parking lot to protect volunteers and food product from passing rain showers. Throughout the afternoon two shifts of volunteers worked together to pack boxes filled with shelf-stable food for Delaware seniors. The atmosphere was festive with music. Each volunteer also received a red READY. SET. PACK! t-shirt… and packed they did!

In less than three hours all 27,000 meals were carefully packed with nutritious household essentials including whole-wheat pasta, brown rice, canned goods such as fruits and vegetables, oatmeal, peanut butter and more.

Boxes will be distributed to low-income seniors throughout the state through the Food Bank’s Senior Nutrition Program. Each month, more than than 2,500 seniors pick up meal boxes from senior housing complexes, churches, nonprofit organizations and others to help supplement their monthly grocery needs.

According to the AARP Foundation, seven percent of Delaware seniors are food insecure. Many seniors are oftentimes faced with the difficult decision of buying groceries and paying for medications.

The Summer of Service to Seniors is part of a larger initiative aimed at building awareness of older-adult poverty and food insecurity. In total, volunteers throughout the nation packed three million meals for American seniors struggling with hunger.

To learn more about the Senior Nutrition Program at the Food Bank of Delaware, please click here.